Amid Public Fury, Trinamool Leaders Return 'Cut Money' In Bengal Village

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed in Mathabhanga in Bengal's Cooch Behar district, where Trinamool leaders and workers -- to avoid public anger and possible legal action -- have reportedly started returning money they had collected over time as "cut money" or through extortion. 

The distribution took place at a field, where the villagers were called for a special gathering. In some cases where Trinamool leaders are on the run, their families came to pay up.

The unprecedented incident took place on Sunday in the Fakirer Kuthi area under the Pachagarh Gram Panchayat.

Surendra Barman, president of the local BJP unit, said, "According to the information we have, a panchayat member, along with several Trinamool leaders, collected around Rs 80 lakh from villagers in the area".

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 '𝐌𝐚𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬𝐡' 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟🎭

TMC leader publicly announces the return of 'cut money' via loudspeaker from a Toto in Cooch Behar. The same extortion racket they ran for years is now being reversed out of sheer fear of... pic.twitter.com/3lCbuTpQGv

— BJP (@BJP4India) May 31, 2026

"Now, fearing consequences, even though the panchayat member himself is absent, a few leaders have been forced to appear and return at least some of the money," he added.

The local Trinamool leaders had reportedly gathered villagers at a school field in Fakirer Kuthi on Sunday. 

There, Tapan Dey, the  booth president of Pachagarh Gram Panchayat, personally handed money back to several villagers.

Babai Barman, considered a highly influential Trinamool leader in the area, is on the run. In his absence, his elderly father attended the gathering and returned money to the villagers.

Residents who received money back, expressed both relief and resentment.

One resident said, "A local Trinamool leader had taken a large amount of money from me on the pretext of resolving a land dispute. But no work was ever done. Later, I heard from several people that money was being returned. So, I registered my name and today I got my money back".